Riptide
by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
List Price:
Our Price: $4.01
You Save: $3.98 (50%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Douglas Preston, Lincoln ChildEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-07-01
ISBN: 0446607177
Number of pages: 496
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book Reviews of Riptide
Book Review: A team of engineers attempts to recover the ultimate treasure cache
Summary: 2 Stars
Riptide, the fourth thriller by Preston and Child, was composed after the authors had hit the New York Times best-sellers list but before they figured out that standalone thrillers isn't quite their thing, and the book is disappointing when compared with the (mostly) excellent Pendergast novels. Even so, the story offers plenty of excitement, an intriguing if not exactly original plot, and a thrilling climax.
The book has several factors working against it. For starters, the basic storyline is so familiar that it's difficult to connect with at times. The gist: a famous pirate buried his unimaginable treasure in a booby-trapped cave known as the "water pit." No one has been able to recover it, despite centuries of various attempts. Now a team of engineers has hit upon the perfect solution. Unfortunately for them, their technology, computers, determination, and greed are no match for the genius of the long-dead pirates. Can anyone count the number of novels that have been written about a search for buried treasure? Probably not.
A second problem is the plot's infeasibility. The idea that centuries-old engineering could outmatch modern technology is a bit hard to swallow. The many booby traps the treasure hunters encounter are reminiscent of Matt Reilly's 7 Deadly Wonders (though perhaps reminiscent isn't the right word, since this book was written years earlier). But where Reilly's blatantly cinematic thrill-ride intentionally relies solely on action and intrigue to overcome the reader's skepticism, Preston and Child have actually created a decent story to go along with their main plot gimmick. Perhaps the problem is that the background turns out to be more interesting that the main plot.
A third problem is characterization. Interestingly, Riptide is one of two books written by Preston and Child that doesn't contain any characters who show up later in other books. Previous standalones Thunderhead and The Ice Limit both had characters strong enough to make appearances in later books. Riptide does not. The hero is likeable enough, but his inability to move on after a childhood tragedy makes him too needy to identify with. And the tragic villain starts out well but by the end becomes so meaninglessly evil that he drifts into cartoonishness. The book's other villain is the pastor of a local church whose spiritual insanity displays the authors' apparent antipathy toward Christianity.
The book contains some objectionable content, including a few sex scenes and some language, but nothing that seems overly inappropriate for this genre. The sexual descriptions here are tame compared with other books by these authors.
For me the bottom line was that after finishing the 415-page book, I wasn't left with any compelling reason for having read it at all. The best novels leave the reader with an enduring message of some kind or a character to hope to see again or at least a sense of having been thoroughly entertained. Riptide leaves the reader feeling like the time invested in reading the book would have been better spent elsewhere. For two authors with such an excellent track record, this book is a disappointment.
Summary of Riptide
For generations, treasure hunters have searched for the key to the Water Pit, the labyrinth of shafts and tunnels that honeycombs Ragged Island. But the Pit is reluctant to give up its treasure, and many will die before its secret is revealed.Literature & Fiction Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Womenby Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops:
The Killing Groundby JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowningby Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancyby Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princessby Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Saharaby Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.80
Price in other shops:
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towersby J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Marsby Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar Books and other products
The Wheel of Darknessby Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2008-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.50
Price in other shops:
Dance of Deathby Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2006-01-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.83
Price in other shops:
Relic (Pendergast, Book 1)by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Tor Books; Published: 1996-01-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.39
Price in other shops:
Mount Dragonby Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Tor Books; Published: 1997-06-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.30
Price in other shops:
The Ice Limitby Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2001-07-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.49
Price in other shops:
Thunderheadby Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2000-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.64
Price in other shops:
Brimstone (Pendergast #5)by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Warner Books; Published: 2005-05-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.19
Price in other shops:
Still Life with Crows (Pendergast, Book 4)by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2004-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.42
Price in other shops:
Reliquary (Pendergast, Book 2)by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Tor Books; Published: 1998-07-15; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.32
Price in other shops:
The Cabinet of Curiosities (Pendergast, Book 3)by Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child
Grand Central Publishing; Published: 2003-06-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.69
Price in other shops: